Pilliayar Suzhi

In Tamil Nadu, Pillaiyar Suzhi is drawn first before writing anything. It
is comprised of 3/4 of circle, a curve, two lines and a dot below the last line. In olden days when there was no paper, scribes used palm
leaves to write on. Before they started writing, they made a curve, a line and a dot on the palm leaf. This came to symbolize Ganesha. It was
Ganesha who helped Vyasa write down the Mahabharata. Since then The Pillaiyar Suzhi is supposed to make things work, auspicious and bring
good luck. In exams, students draw this symbol at the beginning of their answer paper in the hope that they get good marks. This Pillaiyar
Suzhi in Tamil Nadu serves the same function as the mark of Om or Shri in North India. Shri is also said to be another name for Ganesha. By
writing his name in the beginning, one is ensuring, absence of any obstacles & 100% smoothness in any activity.